Destruction: Bush started it, Trump will complete

February 5, 2017, 4:20 PM IST

The fact that perhaps nowhere in the world, a leader elected through the process of elections has taken charge in the midst of such opposition within his country as he has not bothered him. The masses on the streets within his own country do not perturb him. The opposition from the larger world does not disturb him. He is shouting not only at his own people but also at the Prime Ministers of ally countries (Australia). If he succeeds in fulfilling his term of four years, in all probability he will end up leaving America a divided nation. Even the countries that willingly or unwillingly sided with it in its wars since 9/11 will be standing opposite to it…..But almost always positives follow negatives. Trump’s mission of hatred has already started generating sympathies for Muslims within America as well as outside. It may herald a new revolution in America, which will hopefully make it a much more civilized nation caring for peace than it has been in the past century. It might well bring out a new phase of close relationship with not only certain Muslim rulers but the larger Muslim world. The danger however is that hopes are belied and hatred wins. If this happens, the Doomsday Clock will move rapidly towards Midnight. One can only wish Trump the megalomaniac finds someone who can soon treat him and make a normal person.

Dr. Javed Jamil

With 9/11 began the destruction of America. Not that the attack on Twin Towers was responsible for it. It began because America reacted wrongly, abruptly and unjustly. It did not take George W Bush more than a few minutes before he declared the attack a work of al-Qaeda. Instead of allowing the inquiries to establish the cause, it embarked on a mission of destruction. This was the “defining moment” for the US. It could have acted in many different ways. The delicateness of the position of the only Super Power of the world at that critical juncture was understandable. A tiger had been challenged in its own den. It was natural for the tiger to be furious, ready to pounce, whoever it thought could have been behind the attacks. Yet, instead of fighting “terrorism” with human wisdom, it chose to fight it with the instincts of the wild animal. The US could have given a serious thought as to why there was a growing hatred in the Muslim world for its policies. It could have invited an international debate to discuss what was required to minimise the hatred. It could have taken Islamic clerics and intellectuals into confidence. Instead it chose to threaten the whole world; the jaw was demonstrated and the teeth ground implying that anyone not ready to abide the orders of the king would be crushed and engulfed. With all of its might, the US attacked Afghanistan, reduced its already dilapidated cities to ruins, killed thousands of innocents along with Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters and replaced the Government of Mullah Omar with its puppet government of Karzai. The Muslim world was furious; their fury however had an empty jaw with no teeth.

Many Muslims had reconciled to the attacks by the US on Afghanistan. They felt it would perhaps silence the fury of the wounded tiger. The end of Afghanistan’s Taliban regime provided a golden opportunity again for the US to bury the hatchet and concentrate on improving the relationship with Muslim masses. It had already dismantled the infrastructure of Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. It could have continued to hunt its elements while trying to befriend Muslims in general. But the tiger’s anger had not subsided. It was ready to engulf another prey, which in its mind, and only in its mind, was a threat to it; none in the world could see what the tiger was trying to show them. Without waiting for the UN inspectors to find Weapons of Mass Destruction, the US embarked upon a mission, which would prove to be nothing more than a mission of hatred: which would flare the flames of terrorism rat her than extinguishing them; which would make ordinary Muslims believe the US and its allies were bent upon destroying, with their innumerable weapons of mass destruction, the very existence of their religion, their culture and their sovereignty. What followed was nothing but shear madness. Iraq was invaded with the overwhelming might of the US and allied forces. Saddam Hussein was overthrown soon. But the real carnage followed after his exit. Even those who hated Saddam Hussein soon turned enemies of the allied forces. Insurgency emerged strongly and has continued even after several years of invasion. About three hundred thousands of Iraqis have lost lives. American and British forces started facing an uphill task in controlling the insurgency. Ultimately, they worked on an exit strategy.

But nothing has worked so far. The Iraq invasion has totally annihilated the sympathy that had been generated all over the world for the US in the wake of 9/11. The hatred for the US policies has now become ubiquitous. Subsequently, the US changed its strategy from imposing wars to encouraging civil wars and exporting armed rebellions.

In recent years, Western role has been prominently there in all the conflicts in the Middle East. But again, it can be seen that their weapons go to the side, which toes their lines, and against those which have refused to surrender to their diktats. And always, the media would blame the loss of lives on the forces that are not pro-West.

In his last two years, Obama seemed to have had some change of heart. He had perhaps started realizing the madness and showed signs of reversing the trend. In last few months of office, he tried to present himself as the epitome of peace. He had perhaps realized that the destruction is never one-sided. It soon starts hitting back the destroyer. America’s position has considerably declined as the sole world power. Obama to a certain extent succeeded in restoring the economy. But Trump is determined to undo whatever good Obama tried. Initially it looked possible that his loud talks were only a ploy to win the elections. But after taking over the White House, he looks determined to tread the road of destruction. Instead of acting as a leader, he is behaving like a megalomaniac who wants to impose his will on the whole world without caring even the least about the repercussions. The fact that perhaps nowhere in the world, a leader elected through the process of elections has taken charge in the midst of such opposition within his country as he has not bothered him. The masses on the streets within his own country do not perturb him. The opposition from the larger world does not disturb him. He is shouting not only at his own people but also at the Prime Ministers of ally countries (Australia). If he succeeds in fulfilling his term of four years, in all probability he will end up leaving America a divided nation. Even the countries that willingly or unwillingly sided with it in its wars since 9/11 will be standing opposite to it.

But almost always positives follow negatives. Trump’s mission of hatred has already started generating sympathies for Muslims within America as well as outside. It may herald a new revolution in America, which will hopefully make it a much more civilized nation caring for peace than it has been in the past century. It might well bring out a new phase of close relationship with not only certain Muslim rulers but the larger Muslim world. The danger however is that hopes are belied and hatred wins. If this happens, the Doomsday Clock will move rapidly towards Midnight. One can only wish Trump the megalomaniac finds someone who can soon treat him and make a normal person.

Dr Javed Jamil is India based thinker and writer with over a dozen books including his latest, “Muslim Vision of Secular India: Destination & Road-map”, “Qur’anic Paradigms of Sciences & Society” (First Vol: Health), “Muslims Most Civilised, Yet Not Enough” and Other works include “The Devil of Economic Fundamentalism”, “The Essence of the Divine Verses”, “The Killer Sex”, “Islam means Peace” and “Rediscovering the Universe”. Read more about him at http://www.worldmuslimpedia.com/dr-javed-jamil. Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/drjavedjamil; also https://javedjamil.com/. He can be contacted at [email protected]